Economic benefits of biodigesters use in an enterprise producer of cheese

Abstract

Globally, the use of fossil fuels has increased as time passes, however, these types of energy are depleting, which leads to increased costs, the result of supply and demand. So, it is necessary to use other types of energy that do not affect the environment and do not resort to large costs. One of the ways to generate renewable energy is through the use of biodigesters allowing the production of biogas which is a mixture of gases, mainly carbon dioxide and methane. This by-product can be used as generator of electrical energy or as a replacement for certain fossil fuels used in daily activities. The main objective was to calculate the economic impact generated by the production and use of biogas in a cheese producer company from Saucillo, Chihuahua, México. This enterprise has a biodigester facility, which biogas production is enough to replace its use of LP gas. On the present study is shown the economic impact resulting from the use of the biodigestion process in the company through various economic indicators applied according to the information collected and Baca Urbina methodology. The results obtained were an IRR of 46.72%, NPV of $4,937,745.64 and benefit-cost rate of 1.80. As conclusion the use of biodigesters provide an acceptable and favorable impact showing that the investment of the project is profitable for the company.